Siddhartha

Versatile actor Chris Hendrie breathes life into this poetical and allegorical novel and leads us on a profound spiritual journey to finding enlightenment. With a deep and compelling humanity, its young hero moves through self-discovery into self-knowledge, and finally into pure joy as he encounters the river of life. Published in 1922, this book has inspired millions worldwide.

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Siddhartha

Siddhartha is Nobel Prize-winning author Hermann Hesse's most famous and influential work, a novel of self-exploration that will linger in your mind and spirit for a lifetime. A young man, blessed with loving parents and a safe home in a world where want and neglect abound, leaves this haven in search of himself.

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Siddhartha

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Publisher's Summary

In the shade of the house, in the sunshine of the riverbank near the boats, in the shade of the Salwood forest, in the shade of the fig tree is where Siddhartha grew up, the handsome son of the Brahman, the young falcon, together with his friend Govinda, son of a Brahman. The sun tanned his light shoulders by the banks of the river when bathing, performing the sacred ablutions, the sacred offerings. In the mango grove, shade poured into his black eyes, when playing as a boy, when his mother sang, when the sacred offerings were made, when his father, the scholar, taught him, when the wise men talked. For a long time, Siddhartha had been partaking in the discussions of the wise men, practicing debate with Govinda, practicing with Govinda the art of reflection, the service of meditation. He already knew how to speak the Om silently, the word of words, to speak it silently into himself while inhaling, to speak it silently out of himself while exhaling, with all the concentration of his soul, the forehead surrounded by the glow of the clear-thinking spirit. He already knew to feel atman in the depths of his being, indestructible, one with the universe.

Normally this is not the genre of book I would read, however, I found that I could not put this down. The first chapter grabbed my attention and kept it through the entire book. Highly recommend, a really great book!

A number of reviewers find this translation of Siddhartha to be unsatisfactory, citing typos and grammatical errors. I believe Ron Welch may have corrected many of these errors while performing Hesse's classic.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Siddhartha?

The exchange between Siddhartha and his father when the son has determined to leave and join the Samanas. Welch captures the stand-off between father and son with all the interwoven fury and tumult of emotion. Great moment.

Have you listened to any of Ron Welch’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to Welch's narration of Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings. The former is delivered in the stern-sounding imperative tone of an old master swordsman. His performance of Siddhartha is different, showing his impressive adaptability and expressive talents. With appropriate use of tone and 'spaciousness' around dialogue, Welch is able to appropriately convey the classic lyrical style of the original. He does this without resorting to overhanded flourishes and pomposity. The only thing I found jarring was the use of unusual accent for the ferryman Vasudeva, whose dialogue made him sound like an stereotypical New Yorker, or something like it. On the whole very listenable, the kind of storytelling voice you want to listen to!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Listen to the river.

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

I really love Siddhartha as a story. I read it twice before. This narrator made the story hard to listen to. The narrator tried to give each character a unique voice by giving them random accents. For example, one wise old Indian man has a Brooklyn accent.

The well-known plot is that our hero Siddartha goes through an incredible life journey in both poverty and riches to finally find enlightenment at a river.

I first read this story when I was 17 years old, and at the time I thought it was a story beautiful in its simplicity. I’ve claimed it as a favorite throughout my adult life, but I haven’t ever reread it. When I had an opportunity to listen to it on audio, I took the chance.

Now 25 years later, I’m surprised at my reaction to the story. I may be more rigid in my thinking than when I was younger, but the story doesn’t speak to me as it had done before. I wondered, for example, if young Siddartha had mental health issues at play. Yes, that’s a very modern western thinking clouding perceptions.

As for the audio performance, the narrator has a good voice, and he keeps things moving at a comfortable pace. He does give voices to the different characters, but he isn’t extravagant in his choices or deviating too often from the general mellow effect of his narration. I do consider his restraint a positive quality for this audio. The only thing I didn’t care for was his choice of voice for the character of the boatman Vasudeva. That one I found annoying and out of place because it reminded me of something I’d hear in metro New York.

This is a competent performance, and I recommend it to those who are already interested in this classic journey of a hero’s enlightenment. It is a short novel, so the time commitment is minimal.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

This book always has a special place in my heart, I read it first when I was 18 and found it to be very moving and resonate with my coming of age confusion about reality and life.

I've never used audio books and generally don't think it's a form of book consumption I would enjoy however this was the perfect book to listen to. With all it's existential questioning and ponderings it's exactly the kind of book which is a pleasure to "listen" to. A good first experience of the Audible app.

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